Chapter 01 …
I Drew an EX-Rank Past Life
Do you know what a past life is?
It refers to the life you lived before your current one—before you were reborn.
Setting aside things like “past-life experiences,” people have told stories like this for ages.
That humans live seven lives.
Many people used to believe that.
What even is a past life you can’t remember? Once you die, it’s all over anyway.
Just a story—half hope, half fantasy—meant to comfort people into believing that another life awaits after this harsh one ends.
That’s what everyone thought.
No one could have known.
That the damn thing called a past life would become so important.
[Another explosion has occurred in the city. Authorities confirm once again that this was an artificial terrorist attack—]
[Despite the sudden incident, the one who resolved the situation was none other than Eugene (19)—]
[The government has announced an emergency press conference regarding this situation—]
I listened absently while my eyes stayed glued to my phone screen.
It was an article uploaded today.
[The youngest SS-rank superhuman, Eugene. Who exactly is he?]
[Eugene’s past life is said to originate from a martial arts world—]
“……”
Hoo—
It was the season where every breath turned into visible vapor.
Feeling the cold air cut across my cheeks, I turned off my phone.
There was no point in reading any further.
Under the dim glow of streetlights, the long, familiar road stretched out before me—the path I always took home.
—Jinwoo, I understand what kind of dream you have. I really do, but… what can’t be done simply can’t be done.
As I walked, my teacher’s voice from earlier still echoed in my ears.
—If you really can’t give it up, I can contact a guild and see if there’s any related work available.
—But becoming a knight like you dreamed of… you need to give that up now. For your future.
I understood why my teacher said that.
Watching a student throw away their entire life chasing an impossible dream—it must have been painful.
That’s why he told me to give up now.
That I’d already done enough.
Thinking about it made me rake my hands through my hair without realizing it.
“Ah… my life’s really screwed.”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I wanted to become a knight.
I’d devoted the past few years entirely to that goal, but now, I didn’t even have a full day left to try.
Because I—
Damn it all.
I couldn’t remember my past life.
* * *
To become a knight, one had to first undergo Awakening.
From the ages of ten to nineteen—a span of ten years—only a handful of humans would awaken, at extremely low odds.
Those who succeeded were granted special powers and became superhumans.
And here’s the thing.
During Awakening, the person recalls their past life.
It sounds ridiculous—past lives, out of nowhere—but that’s how it worked.
Nearly everyone who became a superhuman experienced it.
A past life.
It sounded absurd, but it was real.
The special power a superhuman gained was identical to the power they had possessed in that past life.
For example, Hale Irene—ranked number one in the world and America’s top superhuman knight—claimed that she had been a Grand Archmage in another world.
And the power she used was, in fact, magic.
This showed that past lives weren’t limited to this world alone.
Fantasy worlds.
Martial arts worlds.
All kinds of dimensions existed.
Those who awakened recalled the past selves they had lived in those other realms.
Ironically, while such extraordinary worlds existed, there were also people whose past lives had been in ordinary worlds—just like this one.
Even if they awakened, those people often gained no special powers at all.
In other words, if your past self was insignificant, Awakening wouldn’t change anything.
Among the awakened—
Those who possessed exceptional power earned a title.
Knight.
Those who could cross dimensions and enter the gates that appeared every five days.
Their existence was the reason this era remained relatively peaceful.
And yet—
Tomorrow, I would become someone who couldn’t even dream of being a knight anymore.
Awakening only occurred between the ages of ten and nineteen.
If you turned twenty without awakening, you would never recall your past life.
That was what all statistics showed.
In over a decade, not a single case existed of someone awakening after turning twenty.
Click—
I opened the door to my home, greeted only by emptiness.
“I’m home.”
I knew no one would answer, but I said it anyway.
It made me feel a little better.
I didn’t turn on the lights.
“I’m home.”
In the dark room, I greeted my parents’ memorial photos in the corner.
It had become a habit over time.
‘Tomorrow… I should stop by school, then head to Seoul.’
Even knowing it was impossible, despair couldn’t last forever.
I had to live.
If I couldn’t do this, then I had to find another way.
‘What if I fail the interview? Should I look into the military?’
‘Do they even accept civilians these days? They say you can’t enlist without Awakening.’
‘How much money do I have left?’
‘Ah… rent’s due tomorrow too.’
‘If I fail, I need to look for more part-time work.’
What should I do?
My head filled with nothing but worries, making me feel suffocated and exhausted.
At times like this, there was only one thing to do.
‘…Let’s sleep.’
Even thinking was tiring.
I needed to fall asleep as fast as possible.
Like always.
Creeeak.
I opened my bedroom door.
“Ugh… it’s cold.”
Then I noticed—the window was open.
Huh? Did I leave it open?
I couldn’t remember.
Mornings were always hectic.
That could be it.
Then—
Ssshhh…
I felt a presence behind me.
Before I could identify who—or even think—I grabbed the desk lamp and swung it backward.
Whoosh!
The lamp cut through the air—
Crash!
It shattered against the wall.
“…Huh?”
I turned around.
No one was there.
That’s strange. I definitely felt something.
‘Was I just imagining it because I’m tired?’
Maybe.
I looked down at the broken lamp in my hand.
“Ah… damn it. This was a gift.”
Crap. One of the few luxuries I owned.
Now I had to clean this up too.
As I glanced at the clock—
11:59 PM.
One minute before the day ended.
One minute before my hope disappeared.
“Haha…”
This is exhausting.
Just as I went to grab a broom—
Ding—!!!
“Hm?”
A strange sound rang in my ears.
What was that?
Wait—
“Is this…?”
My eyes widened.
I’d heard this before.
They said you hear a strange alarm when Awakening begins.
“Ah—”
My heart started pounding.
Could it be?
Ding—!!!
[■ Past Life Roulette is now in progress.]
“…!”
A notification window appeared before my eyes.
This was it.
‘Past Life Roulette…!’
The thing you see when you awaken.
You draw one of your past lives.
My breathing trembled.
I awakened with less than a minute left.
How could I describe this feeling?
Clutching my racing heart, I focused on the screen.
Rrrrr—!!!
The notification spun, revealing several cards.
Seven cards, numbered one through seven.
“…So I choose one of these?”
My trembling fingers hovered.
What should I choose?
What if my past life was useless?
Then everything would be meaningless.
‘Please.’
Please let it be a good one.
After hesitating for a long time, I finally chose one.
Number five.
Ding—!!
The alarm rang.
The card spun and began to glow.
An orange light.
And then—
[Past life selected.]
[■ Knight Lord (S)]
[■ The past life you have chosen is Knight Lord.]
“Ghk—”
I clamped a hand over my mouth.
S-rank.
Only eleven in Korea.
Fewer than three hundred worldwide.
An absurdly high rank.
[■ Would you like to confirm?]
‘…It worked.’
It worked.
My life finally bloomed.
It felt like I could achieve anything right now.
I reached out.
No hesitation.
I had to choose immediately.
But—
Tap. Tap.
“Huh?”
No matter how I pressed, the button wouldn’t respond.
What?
“They said it would activate…”
I’d heard that once you confirmed, the memories and abilities would be injected immediately.
“What’s wrong?”
There was no response.
Something felt wrong.
Anxiety surged.
Then—
Bzzzt—
Bzzzzzz—!!!
“W-what…?”
Cracks began spreading across the Knight Lord notification.
What the hell?
Just as panic set in—
—That won’t do.
A voice echoed from somewhere.
—You can’t be satisfied with something like that.
Who was it?
Where was it coming from?
I wanted to check, but—
‘…My body…’
I couldn’t move.
A superhuman?
An ability-type?
Magic?
Why would someone like that come for me?
Thoughts raced through my head.
The voice continued.
—After using so many chances, you finally found it.
A raspy, cracking voice.
A man.
An old man.
My body was frozen, my gaze angled downward—I couldn’t see him.
A dry, wrinkled hand reached toward the Knight Lord window.
Both hands cupped it.
What was he—
Crunch!
“…!!!”
My eyes bulged.
Veins stood out on my neck.
Like crushing paper, he crumpled the notification window.
My chance vanished before my eyes.
An S-rank past life—gone.
“No… don’t…”
I forced my lips apart, barely making a sound.
—The path you must walk is not something so trivial.
The old man discarded the crushed window.
Then he reached for the seventh card—the last remaining one.
Screeeee—!!!
The card spun.
No glow.
Unlike the orange Knight Lord, this one reacted differently.
The white card slowly turned black.
[Past life selected.]
[■ Tzzt… tzzt…]
The window glitched violently.
Then it displayed the name.
[■ Martial God (??)]
‘…Martial God?’
A simple name.
But the rank was hidden.
—Enlarge your pitiful vessel on your own.
The old man’s voice pierced through me.
—The power is excessive. That much effort is the least you can manage.
—If you can’t even do that, then take your own life.
At that moment—
Something was pulled into my body.
Below the navel.
“Ghk—!”
It felt like thousands of needles stabbing me at once.
An unbearable agony.
My vision strained.
Like my blood vessels would burst.
I couldn’t think.
The pain was overwhelming.
And yet—
—Open your ears, my incompetent descendant.
The voice was clear.
Too clear.
But parts of it were strangely muted.
The old man didn’t care.
—Everything I built will flow into you.
—If you live a worthless life after receiving this, I will personally crush your heart.
My body reached its limit.
My consciousness began to fade.
‘I don’t want to die…!’
I still had things to do.
I had revenge to take.
I turned my eyes.
Newspapers piled on the floor.
Photos of someone.
I clenched my teeth.
I couldn’t die like this—not when I was living so desperately for something.
As darkness consumed my vision, the voice whispered—
—Martial God (武神).
It etched itself into my mind.
—Remember. From now on, you are the Martial God.
—No matter what name your life takes, you must become the Martial God.
And with that—
My consciousness snapped.
Ding.
Tzzt.
A notification window floated before me.
[■ Rank adjusted to stabilize dimensional balance.]
[■ Martial God (???) → Martial God (EX)]
[■ Warning: Dimensional Attention Required.]
It was a warning unlike anything the world had ever seen.
